The Presidency spent Sh360 million on hospitality, accounting for 17.4 per cent of the Sh2.075 billion that public offices spent on parties and receptions in the first half of 2016/17.
The report particularly identifies the Presidency and Foreign Affairs ministry as top spenders on the non-essential items.
The expenditure by Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto on entertainment is, however, lower this fiscal year compared to the first six months of 2015/16.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, top the list of government officials that blew more than Sh2 billion on entertainment between July and December.
The Presidency – which comprises the offices of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto - spent Sh360 million on hospitality, accounting for 17.4 per cent of the Sh2.075 billion that public offices spent on parties and receptions in the first half of 2016/17.
By comparison, the 65 government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) spent a total of Sh1.718 billion on entertainment in the first six months of 2015/16, half-year report prepared by Controller of Budget indicates.
The Presidency is followed closely by the Department of Sports, which spent a total of Sh310 million on hospitality in the six months to December or nearly six times the Sh56 million that it spent in a similar period last financial year.
The report particularly identifies the Presidency and Foreign Affairs ministry as top spenders on the non-essential items — travel and entertainment — which the government has tried to control over the years.
“The highest expenditure by MDAs in selected categories shows that foreign affairs and international trade spent Sh1.1 billion on foreign travel while the Presidency utilised Sh360 million on hospitality,” notes report authored by Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo.
The report comes just weeks after the Treasury sought an additional Sh1 billion for foreign travel and entertainment through the second mini-budget tabled in Parliament.
The request, which has drawn sharp criticism from Parliament’s Budget and Appropriation Committee, comes as another indication of the government’s inability to observe its own spending guidelines on non-essential items.
Mr Kenyatta had previously called for trimming of expenditure on non-essential items, at some point even asking top State officials to take 20 per cent pay cut in part of efforts to tame high recurrent expenditure.
The expenditure by Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto on entertainment is, however, lower this fiscal year compared to the first six months of 2015/16.
Last financial year, the Presidency, for instance, spent Sh627.4 million on hospitality, almost twice the current financial year’s expenditure.
